Sam Coffey: Man City midfielder on speaking out, WSL appeal and friendship with Emma Hayes

Barring an improbable late-season collapse, the 2025-26 WSL title will be Coffey’s latest honour in a fast-growing list.

After winning the 2022 NWSL championship with the Thorns in her first season as a professional, she helped the US win the Concacaf Gold Cup and Olympic gold in Paris in 2024.

Coffey did not need to move 4,800 miles and eight time zones east in order to continue winning, but she felt the move necessary to feed her insatiable appetite for learning and personal growth.

“The girls have been very welcoming, every day I start feel more at home,” added the New York native.

After growing up in the village of Sleepy Hollow, 28 miles up the Hudson River from Manhattan, Coffey attended Pennsylvania State University where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

The profession runs in the family – Coffey’s father, Wayne, is a New York Times best-selling author, while sister Alex is a sportswriter.

In 2022 Coffey moved across the country to Oregon to begin her professional career with the Thorns.

Her eyes light up as she compared Manchester to her adopted home of Portland, but not in a longing, nostalgic way. She has been keen to throw herself head-first into a city that, as the cliche goes, prides itself on doing things differently.

“I owe it to the place I’m in to assimilate, learn about what’s important to it and what the city is about. I want to continue to get immersed in the culture and learn as much as I can,” she said.

“I really love the city so far. It reminds me of where I came from; rainy, quirky, unique, with its own style and personality. The city has a clear spirit and value system and I think that’s really awesome.”